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#practiceruns #cuttingmirrors

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#tiny-mirrors

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Sneak Peek!

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Following on from my research of Jane Monckton’s Smiths book “In Control – Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder” I remembered a lady called Mary Manning who appeared on the Late Late a couple of years ago to discuss her new book “Nobody Will Believe You”. In her book, she describes a very personal and brave story of her survival of over 20 years of abuse she suffered at the hands of her Stepfather. She explains “Why She Didn’t Leave”.

One of my ideas for this work is centred around that fear factor and shame of why a woman will not leave. My objective is to reuse and rework material that I salvaged from the centre in the form of mirrors. The way we perceive ourselves is in stark contrast to the way a victim sees themselves. The way we gaze into a mirror is a very emotionally charged moment capturing something about our inner self. After a lovely conversation with one of my former Tutors about my ideas she said of mirrors, that they are “fabulous things. We often look for the other as a mirror to ourselves, the body remembers, feelings are embodied experiences”. This was my first time using a glass cutter, it was quiet a daunting experience but practice makes perfect!

The art exhibition will take place at Clare Havens HQ in November and December for sixteen days to coincide with the UN Global Campaign of Activism to highlight domestic abuse against women.

Fact:

In Greek mythology the term Narcissist derived from Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection through a pool of water.

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A good preparation takes longer than the delivery.

E. Kim Nebeuts.

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As part of a group show, I am in preparation here for a site specific artwork in a room at Clare Haven who are a domestic abuse service organisation in Clare for women and children. Following on from one of my last posts, the room has been painted and now ready for installation. I will probably wait until mid to late October to install however, I am running some tests with the material I chose to work with. 

This art exhibition is to show the public what it is really like to experience domestic abuse and to give the audience a better understanding of the societal, cultural and economic barriers which prevent women from leaving an abusive relationship.

The exhibition will open 24th Nov-10th December to coincide with the UN Global Campaign of Activism to highlight domestic abuse against women. The sentence I must respond to is “Why Didn’t She Just Leave”. A very difficult task indeed but I rely on my research for ideas. One of the books I read was written by Jane Monckton Smith who is a world renowned criminology expert. She is a Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire in the UK. She is internationally renowned for her research into homicide, coercive control and stalking. Her thirty years of research has led to the eight stage homicide timeline laying out identifiable stages in which coercive relationships can escalate to murder and revolutionises our understanding of them.

PLEASE READ if you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse. You can contact Clare Haven on their 24hr confidential helpline 065-6822435. They offer refuge, advocacy, counselling, accompaniment, support and advice or contact Women’s Aid or Safe Ireland. 

Thank you to the @sculptureandcombinedmedia department in @lsadlimerick for recommending me for this work and to a very lovely former Tutor for the recommendation of Monckton Smiths book. Many ideas came from this research and the Project Leaders decided to go ahead with another proposal I put forward which I am absolutely delighted with. It is an absolute privilege to represent these women and children in the best way I know how - through my art.

I will continue to share this journey with you over the next while.

#clarehaven #womensrefuge #domesticviolence #whywomendontleave #domesticabuse #domesticviolenceawareness #sitespecific #sitespecificart #sitespecificinstallation #fineart #sculptureart #contemporarysculpture #contemporaryartists #clareartist #clareartsoffice #irishartist #selfcare #installation #installationart #install

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#readyforpainting #installationart #artexhibition

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Hey presto!!! Some more sanding is needed!

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A tip I learned from my Mom a long time ago... fill big holes with any material to avoid using buckets of filler and then plaster over them!

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#fillers #sanding #prepping

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I also removed the skirting boards to match the door frame or lack of!

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#lovethis

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These wooden dowels with tiny nails used to attach carpet are nasty to remove so the gloves went on!

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Beautiful shadows created by the flowers on the windowsill. 

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All the bedrooms are very similar but I liked this one because of the light. The Manager had arranged for a group of volunteers to begin the clean up. I requested that everything that could be removed be removed except the mirrors.

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Working as a professional artist feels so good. It’s been a long wait but I got there in the end! My very first paid work is for a women’s refuge centre and will coincide with the UN Global Campaign of Activism to highlight domestic abuse against women and runs from 24th November - 10th December 2021. I will fill you in on the venue closer to the time. 

I was very proud to be recommended by one of my Tutors for the position. I still had to send all my details along with works I produced over the last four years in college and thankfully, the project leaders liked them and said I was a good fit for the role (no pressure!!!) It is so important to document everything you do to the best of your ability especially if you are a new-be to the outside art world like myself.

The exhibition will be held on the first floor of the premises before it is potentially renovated and has eleven bedrooms. I was delighted to be able to choose which bedroom I would like to work with. 

The information relayed to us was that we could use whatever material that was left in the space if we so desired. I like to reuse or recycle materials so I walked around the space a number of times looking for materials that I felt a connection with. 

The sentence I have to respond to is “Why Didn’t She Just Leave” sooooo the research began and having learned through my research that victims of domestic violence are made feel worthless, consistently told they are ugly and no-one will want them and much worse, I began to think a lot about the mirrors that were left hanging on the walls as a material I might be able to work with. The words reflection, fractured, broken, shattered and themes of dangerous sharp objects began to resonate with me. The mirror above is the first one of seven I removed to bring back to my studio to carry out some experiments with. I broke a tiny piece from the corner of one upon removing it. Superstition tells us that if one breaks a mirror, one will receive seven years bad luck...

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Graduate show full video. Credit to Shane Vaughan, PFV Student for piecing it all together. 

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#nonconformance(3)documentation #sculpturestudiolsad

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Andy and I installing Nonconformance in my place of work yesterday to take some shots for the five minute video request…